liquidation

Forms

liquidation f (plural liquidations)^[1]

Etymology

It is probably borrowed from Italian liquidazione, a term of finance, although the Italian word is recorded only from the early 16th century.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} The Italian noun is derived from liquidare (“to settle, liquidate”),^[2][4] which goes back to Late Latin liquidō (“to make fluid”) (5th century), from liquidus (“liquid”).^[3] Bloch and Wartburg derive it from liquider (1520), adding that it may come directly from the Italian;^[7] after the borrowing the French noun followed the development of the verb.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1416, in a document from Anjou, for the realization of goods, turning them into money.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

From 1671 it meant the reckoning of the assets and liabilities of an account,^[2][3] and in law the fixing of sums that had been undetermined, as in liquidation des droits (before 1611, Sully) and liquidation des conventions matrimoniales (1687).^[8][9] The Code de commerce of 1807 used it for the settlement of forward operations on the stock exchange, and liquidation judiciaire became a legal procedure in 1889.^[8]

In the 19th century, with the verb liquider, it gained familiar figurative senses: putting a quick end to a situation (1866), getting rid of something and, from 1899, of someone, which became a euphemism for killing.^[2][3] The commercial sense “clearance sale at low prices” dates from 1893.^[2][3][8]

Timeline

• 1416 – First record, for the realization of goods.^[2][3]
• before 1611 – Sully writes of liquidations et prisée des droits.^[9][8]
• 1671 – Pomey records the sense “reckoning of assets and liabilities”.^[2]
• 1807 – The Code de commerce uses it for the stock-exchange settlement.^[8]
• 1866 – Augier uses it for a killing, and Littré for ending a situation.^[2]
• 1889 – Liquidation judiciaire appears in law.^[8]
• 1893 – Recorded for a clearance sale.^[2][3]
• 1899 – Clemenceau uses it for getting rid of opponents.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (law, finance) The calculation of sums to be paid, and their settlement: liquidation des dépens, liquidation de l'impôt.^[4][2][5]
2. (law) The winding up of a company, a succession or a joint estate, determining its assets and liabilities;^[4][2][10] liquidation judiciaire, the realization of a business's assets to pay its debts.^[4][2][10]
3. (stock exchange) The settlement of forward operations, and the period in which it is made.^[2][11]
4. (commerce) A clearance sale at reduced prices: liquidation totale.^[2][10][1]
5. (figurative) The putting of a quick and final end to something: la liquidation d'un vieux contentieux.^[2][11]
6. (familiar) The getting rid of a troublesome person, especially by murder.^[11][2]

Related words

• liquider
• liquidateur
• liquide
• Italian liquidazione

Usage notes

The TLFi has a separate liquidation in soap-making, the operation that rids soap of impurities and alkali (1774), derived from liquide with the suffix -ation.^[2][3][12]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
6. ^ Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org
7. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
11. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
12. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert